Unsaturated ether or ester derivatives of polyhydric phenols are well known as a class of compounds that can be cured or crosslinked to produce insoluble products which exhibit good solvent resistance and mechanical properties as well as high heat distortion temperature. Such unsaturated ethers or esters are crosslinked by reaction with catalytic or polyfunctional curing agents to produce tough, heat resistant products which are processed by conventional methods into sheets, laminates with fiber glass or other reinforcements or shaped articles and the crosslinked products are also useful in adhesive formulations.
As indicated, much of the technology is broadly conventional. The disclosure of Zahir et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,140 is illustrative. The compound 2,2-di(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, also known as bisphenol A or BPA, is converted to the sodium salt and reacted with allyl chloride to produce the allyl ether derivative of BPA, i.e., 2,2-di(4-allyloxyphenyl)propane. This diallyl ether is rearranged to the diallyl-substituted BPA which is cured, but the diallyl ether is also curable without rearrangement. Curing takes place, for example, by reacting the diallyl ether with an imide-containing curing agent.
Other types of unsaturated derivatives of polyhydric phenols which are cured by such conventional techniques include the acrylate and methacrylate esters of polyhydric phenols described by Zahir et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,524.
On some occasions, the cured products which provide the more desirable properties, particularly in high temperature applications, are produced from unsaturated derivatives of aromatic phenolic compounds having polycyclic structures wherein some or all the rings share common atoms with other rings of the polycyclic structure. It would be of advantage to provide a novel class of unsaturated derivatives of phenolic compounds having a plurality of rings within the molecular structure. Such unsaturated derivatives react with conventional curing agents to produce insoluble cured products of good properties.